Over 150 aircraft, including the F-22 Raptors and F-35 Lightning II stealth jets, carrier-capable F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, and bombers like the B-1B Lancers, took off from about 20 bases in the Western Hemisphere, for the US military raid on Venezuela.
They were joined by electronic warfare planes such as the EA-18G Growlers, the RQ-170 drones, and refuelling tankers.
These aircraft hit northern Venezuela, including military bases, including Fort Tiuna, La Carlota Air Base, and La Guaira port. Experts believe these strikes were carried out on location, just a few miles from the capital, Caracas, to create a diversion.
The US forces also disrupted power grids, causing complete darkness in the Venezuelan capital.
“The lights of Caracas were largely turned off due to a certain expertise that we have,” US President Donald Trump said. “It was dark, and it was deadly.”
While the President did not say what expertise he was referring to, some observers attributed the outage to a US cyberattack on Venezuela’s energy infrastructure.
They surmised that the blackout was deliberately induced to conceal the approach of the military aircraft and to disrupt Venezuelan air defences, radar, and command systems during the nighttime raid.
Notably, the aircraft deployed by the US conducted large-scale SEAD (Suppression of Air Defence) operations. As the operation began, they disabled most of Venezuela’s air defence systems, including Buk-M2E.
Videos of damaged Buk AD systems, acquired from Russia, have been widely shared on social media.
The raid on the military base that was housing the Venezuelan President and his wife was conducted by the elite Delta Force.
The US military helicopters of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment—the night stalkers—also took part in the operation.
The helicopters, such as Chinooks and AH-64 Apaches, flew as low as 100 feet above the water to insert the assault team, while being escorted by the most advanced fighter jets in the USAF fleet. Additionally, an MH-60L DAP also purportedly took part and was seen striking Venezuelan forces at the Fuerte Tiuna military base.
The helicopter striking Venezuelan forces near Fort Tiuna during Operation “Absolute Resolve” was not an AH-1Z Viper, but a MH-60L DAP from the U.S. 160th SOAR.
The MH-60L DAP is a special-operations gunship, not a transport, armed with cannons, rockets, Hellfires, Stingers,… pic.twitter.com/3rVLCuH2z0
— Clash Report (@clashreport) January 5, 2026
Delta Force breached Maduro’s “highly guarded fortress” in Fuerte Tiuna, catching him by surprise.
“The force descended into Maduro’s compound and moved with speed, precision, and discipline,” Gen. Dan Caine said.
Separately, Trump said, ”They just broke in, and they broke into places that were not really able to be broken into, you know, steel doors that were put there for just this reason.”
The firefight that ensued at the base damaged one of the US helicopters and injured several US raiders. However, Trump said no loss of life was reported.
Meanwhile, 32 Cuban troops deployed at the base perished in the clash leading up to Maduro’s capture.
Maduro attempted to flee to a steel safe room but was captured. The Venezuelan President and First Lady surrendered without major resistance.
Maduro arrived at a New York court on Monday and faces narco trafficking charges along with his wife, Cilia. Maduro was escorted by heavily armed law enforcement officers to a courthouse in New York after being transported by helicopter and armored car.
Venezuela’s interim leader, Delcy Rodriguez, stepped back from her initial defiance by offering to work with Trump. “We extend an invitation to the US government to work together on an agenda for cooperation.”
No Venezuela death toll has been announced, but Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said a “large part” of Maduro’s security team was killed “in cold blood,” as well as military personnel and civilians.
When asked what he needs from interim leader Rodriguez, Trump said: “We need total access. We need access to the oil and other things in their country that allow us to rebuild their country.”
Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, and more crude in the market could exacerbate oversupply concerns and add to recent price pressure.
Leading opposition figure Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia said that while the US intervention was “important,” without the release of political prisoners and acknowledgement that he won the 2024 election, it was simply “not enough.”
The White House indicated that it does not want regime change, only Maduro’s removal and a pliant new government — even if it is filled with his former associates.
China, Russia, and Iran, which have strong, robust ties with Maduro’s government, were quick to criticize the US military operation. Some US allies, including the EU, expressed alarm.
China called for Maduro to be “immediately released” in a condemnation of the US operation, which its foreign ministry said was a “clear violation of international law.”
Iran said on Monday that its relations with close ally Venezuela remained unchanged and called for Maduro’s release.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the US action an “assault on the sovereignty” of Latin America.
He threatened to “take up arms” amid threats from Donald Trump, who attacked Venezuela and captured its President in a daring military operation.
Petro, a former guerrilla, said on X: “I swore not to touch a weapon again… but for the homeland I will take up arms again.”Trump said over the weekend that Petro should “watch his ass” and described Colombia’s leader as “a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States.”
In a long message on X, Petro insisted that his anti-narcotics policy is sufficiently robust, but stressed there were limits to how aggressive the military can be.
“If you bomb even one of these groups without sufficient intelligence, you will kill many children. If you bomb peasants, thousands will turn into guerrillas in the mountains. And if you detain the president, whom a good part of my people love and respect, you will unleash the popular jaguar,” he wrote.
With Agence France-Presse Inputs
